CSS ''Scorpion'' was a ''Squib''-class torpedo boat that served in the Confederate States Navy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Armed with a single spar torpedo, she originally served guard duty on the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

after being built in late 1864. Along with the rest of the James River Squadron, ''Scorpion'' moved downriver on January 23, 1865, and participated in the

Battle of Trent's Reach The Battle of Trent's Reach was one of the final major naval battles of the American Civil War. Beginning on January 23, 1865, a powerful flotilla of Confederate warships bombarded Fort Brady along the James River and engaged four Union Navy ...

. After performing

depth sounding Depth sounding, often simply called sounding, is measuring the depth of a body of water. Data taken from soundings are used in bathymetry to make maps of the floor of a body of water, such as the seabed topography. Soundings were traditionally ...

s near Union obstructions, ''Scorpion'' moved to get a lantern from the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

CSS ''Virginia II'', but ran into a

hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third edition, ...

and then

ran aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...

. At 07:10 on the morning of January 24, Union fire struck the abandoned tender CSS ''Drewry'', which then exploded. The force of the explosion swept ''Scorpion'' out of control downriver. An attempt to rescue her that night failed, and she was captured by Union forces.

Construction and characteristics

During the

, the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

was slowly destroying the economy of the rebelling

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. The first use of torpedo boats in attempting to break the blockade came in October 1863. The attack damaged a Union vessel, and the partial success led the Confederates to build additional torpedo boats. Multiple designs were used, including a group known as the ''Squib''-class built at

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Hunter Davidson playing a significant role in the design. CSS ''Scorpion'', one of the ''Squib''-class, was constructed in late 1864, and was long, had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , and a

depth of hold Depth(s) may refer to: Science and mathematics * Three-dimensional space * Depth (ring theory), an important invariant of rings and modules in commutative and homological algebra * Depth in a well, the measurement between two points in an oil w ...

of .

Tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ref ...

for the class is unknown. The ''Squib''-class ships were powered by two oscillating condensing engines, which had a diameter

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

and a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, as well a single

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

. According to a Union engineer, she could go at "a fair speed for a boat of her kind". Her crew of five or six operated steer gear that was located towards the front of the vessel. Her armament was a single spar torpedo mounted to a spar shaft that measured or long. The torpedoes used were in diameter, and the spar could be raised or lowered by the ship's crew using a chain and tackle system. Thin plates of iron served as armor on the ships's sides.

Service history

After construction, ''Scorpion'' entered Confederate service with the

James River Squadron The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War. The squadron was part of the Virginia Navy before being transferred to the Confederate States Navy. The squadron is most notable for its r ...

. Under the command of Lieutenant Edward Lakin, she performed guard duty in the

. Beginning on January 23, 1865, the James River Squadron began an offensive against the Union supply depot at City Point, Virginia. To reduce the chance of collisions in the narrow river, the wooden vessels of the fleet were lashed to the

s. Overall, the Confederates had 11 ships present: three ironclads, three gunboats, three torpedo boats, and two tenders. ''Scorpion'' was towed by the tender CSS ''Torpedo'', which was in turn lashed to the ironclad CSS ''Virginia II''. Moving during the night, the Confederate vessels passed a Union shore position known as Fort Brady, which fired upon them. At around 09:00, the Confederate vessels reached Union obstructions in the river at Trent's Reach. ''Scorpion'' was then sent forward to perform

, with a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

from ''Virginia II'' aboard. The pilot claimed that the channel was not open, but Charles Read, who commanded all of the torpedo boats in the James River Squadron, found that a passage could be made; the pilot may have become unnerved by Union shore fire. The ironclad CSS ''Fredericksburg'' then managed to clear the obstructions at around 01:30 on January 24. Read later took ''Scorpion'' to look for the gunboat CSS ''Hampton'', but after not finding her, took the ship to ''Virginia II'' to get a lantern for lighting the passage. ''Virginia II'' had run aground, and the same fate had befallen the ironclad CSS ''Richmond'' as well. The tender CSS ''Drewry'' then ran aground trying to free ''Richmond''. Moving towards ''Virginia II'', ''Scorpion'' ran into a

strung between the former ship and the gunboat CSS ''Beaufort'', losing her torpedo and spar in the process. Not long afterwards, she ran aground. The torpedo boat CSS ''Hornet'' then ran aground trying to free ''Scorpion''. The Confederate vessels that were not aground withdrew upriver before daylight. At 06:55, the crew of ''Drewry'' was taken onto ''Richmond'', and at 07:10, Union fire caused ''Drewry'' to explode. The force of the explosion knocked ''Scorpion'' downriver out of control; two men on board were killed and four others swept overboard. After dark on January 24, Read tried to take ''Beaufort'' downriver to rescue ''Scorpion'', but as ''Beaufort'' could not be controlled due to a strong wind, and a smaller vessel was sent to ''Scorpion''. ''Scorpion'' was found to have taken on water, and after the Union illuminated the area with a Drummond light, the efforts to rescue the vessel were abandoned. She was later captured by Union forces, and may have been burned.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scorpion, CSS Torpedo boats of the Confederate States Navy Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the James River Captured ships Maritime incidents in January 1865 Squib-class torpedo boats